Helen Mirren on love and marriage

The 67-year-old actress has revealed she and her husband, Taylor Hackford, aren't 'remotely romantic'.

London - She once confessed that she got married purely because of “economics”.

And little wonder. For it seems Helen Mirren’s whole attitude to love is distinctly no-nonsense.

The 67-year-old actress has revealed she and her husband, Taylor Hackford, aren’t “remotely romantic”.

The couple, who got married in 1997 after 11 years together, don’t send each other Valentine’s cards, and they regularly forget to mark birthdays with a present. In an interview with Woman & Home, she said: “Taylor and I aren’t remotely romantic with each other. And actually we appreciate the lack of romance in the other person.

“I’d be completely horrified if Taylor gave me a Valentine’s card! That’s not our sort of relationship at all – we would pour cold water on that sort of thing.

“We even forget to get each other birthday presents – I’m always thinking the day before, ‘Oh, I must get Taylor something for his birthday’. Without being corny, we try simply to be considerate to each other every day rather than lavishing each other with gifts.”

But she said Mr Hackford always sends her one present – a bunch of roses to calm her stage fright.

“The one thing that Taylor does always do for me, though, is to send me a bouquet of yellow roses on a first night for luck,” she said.

“When they arrive, I know they’re from him and I love that. And they are all the more special because he’s not constantly giving me things.”

Dame Helen also revealed she is rather low maintenance when it comes to being wined and dined.

She said: “We’ll occasionally go out for dinner, but we don’t need date nights. Being with Taylor is exciting and I feel as if I’m on a permanent date with him.”

Of her marriage, she has previously said: “It was never my intention to marry anybody. Economics are basically the only reason to get married, but I’m very glad I did it.” - Daily Mail